3,533 research outputs found
UV solar irradiance in observations and the NRLSSI and SATIRE-S models
Total solar irradiance and UV spectral solar irradiance have been monitored
since 1978 through a succession of space missions. This is accompanied by the
development of models aimed at replicating solar irradiance by relating the
variability to solar magnetic activity. The NRLSSI and SATIRE-S models provide
the most comprehensive reconstructions of total and spectral solar irradiance
over the period of satellite observation currently available. There is
persistent controversy between the various measurements and models in terms of
the wavelength dependence of the variation over the solar cycle, with
repercussions on our understanding of the influence of UV solar irradiance
variability on the stratosphere. We review the measurement and modelling of UV
solar irradiance variability over the period of satellite observation. The
SATIRE-S reconstruction is consistent with spectral solar irradiance
observations where they are reliable. It is also supported by an independent,
empirical reconstruction of UV spectral solar irradiance based on UARS/SUSIM
measurements from an earlier study. The weaker solar cycle variability produced
by NRLSSI between 300 and 400 nm is not evident in any available record. We
show that although the method employed to construct NRLSSI is principally
sound, reconstructed solar cycle variability is detrimentally affected by the
uncertainty in the SSI observations it draws upon in the derivation. Based on
our findings, we recommend, when choosing between the two models, the use of
SATIRE-S for climate studies
Discovery and Analysis of Evolutionarily Conserved Intronic Splicing Regulatory Elements
Knowledge of the functional cis-regulatory elements that regulate constitutive and alternative pre-mRNA splicing is fundamental for biology and medicine. Here we undertook a genome-wide comparative genomics approach using available mammalian genomes to identify conserved intronic splicing regulatory elements (ISREs). Our approach yielded 314 ISREs, and insertions of ~70 ISREs between competing splice sites demonstrated that 84% of ISREs altered 5ā² and 94% altered 3ā² splice site choice in human cells. Consistent with our experiments, comparisons of ISREs to known splicing regulatory elements revealed that 40%ā45% of ISREs might have dual roles as exonic splicing silencers. Supporting a role for ISREs in alternative splicing, we found that 30%ā50% of ISREs were enriched near alternatively spliced (AS) exons, and included almost all known binding sites of tissue-specific alternative splicing factors. Further, we observed that genes harboring ISRE-proximal exons have biases for tissue expression and molecular functions that are ISRE-specific. Finally, we discovered that for Nova1, neuronal PTB, hnRNP C, and FOX1, the most frequently occurring ISRE proximal to an alternative conserved exon in the splicing factor strongly resembled its own known RNA binding site, suggesting a novel application of ISRE density and the propensity for splicing factors to auto-regulate to associate RNA binding sites to splicing factors. Our results demonstrate that ISREs are crucial building blocks in understanding general and tissue-specific AS regulation and the biological pathways and functions regulated by these AS events
The position profiles of order cancellations in an emerging stock market
Order submission and cancellation are two constituent actions of stock
trading behaviors in order-driven markets. Order submission dynamics has been
extensively studied for different markets, while order cancellation dynamics is
less understood. There are two positions associated with a cancellation, that
is, the price level in the limit-order book (LOB) and the position in the queue
at each price level. We study the profiles of these two order cancellation
positions through rebuilding the limit-order book using the order flow data of
23 liquid stocks traded on the Shenzhen Stock Exchange in the year 2003. We
find that the profiles of relative price levels where cancellations occur obey
a log-normal distribution. After normalizing the relative price level by
removing the factor of order numbers stored at the price level, we find that
the profiles exhibit a power-law scaling behavior on the right tails for both
buy and sell orders. When focusing on the order cancellation positions in the
queue at each price level, we find that the profiles increase rapidly in the
front of the queue, and then fluctuate around a constant value till the end of
the queue. These profiles are similar for different stocks. In addition, the
profiles of cancellation positions can be fitted by an exponent function for
both buy and sell orders. These two kinds of cancellation profiles seem
universal for different stocks investigated and exhibit minor asymmetry between
buy and sell orders. Our empirical findings shed new light on the order
cancellation dynamics and pose constraints on the construction of order-driven
stock market models.Comment: 17 pages, 6 figures and 6 table
Shaking Table Test of the Taiwanese Traditional Dieh-Dou Timber Frame
This article attempts to explore the dynamic behavior of traditional Dieh-Dou timber structure under different combinations of structural forms and vertical loads. Using time-history record (TCU 084) from the Chi-Chi earthquake, two semi full-scale specimens (Symmetric and Asymmetric) were tested. Results showed that the Symmetric specimen tends to be damaged more easily and faster than the Asymmetric one. Damage pattern generally begins from the bottom Dou members and subsequently spreading upwards to the upper Dou, horizontal Gong members, and adjoining Shu members. Friction force between the contact surfaces is crucial towards the maintenance of overall structure. Increase vertical loadings have significant effect on the natural frequencies and global stiffness of the structure. Using the Single-Degree-Of-Freedom (SDOF) system, the derived stiffness is generally in good agreement with the dynamic results of both forms. This study suggests that the effects of increasing vertical loadings should be taken into consideration for future evaluation
Comprehensive analysis of risk factors associating with Hepatitis B virus (HBV) reactivation in cancer patients undergoing cytotoxic chemotherapy
Liquid-to-liquid phase transition in pancake vortex systems
We study the thermodynamics of a model of pancake vortices in layered
superconductors. The model is based on the effective pair potential for the
pancake vortices derived from the London approximation of a version of the
Lawrence-Doniach model which is valid for extreme type-II superconductors.
Using the hypernetted-chain (HNC) approximation, we find that there is a
temperature below which multiple solutions to the HNC equations exist. By
explicitly evaluating the free energy for each solution we find that the system
undergoes a first-order transition between two vortex liquid phases. The
low-temperature phase has larger correlations along the field direction than
the high-temperature phase. We discuss the possible relation of this phase
transition to the liquid-to-liquid phase transition recently observed in
Y-Ba-Cu-O superconductors in high magnetic fields in the presence of disorder.Comment: 7 pages, 6 figure
Analog IC test and product engineering curriculum for Malaysia microelectronics industry
Production test is a significant driver of semiconductor manufacturing cost. Parallel with the advances of semiconductor fabrication, the need for a pool of talented product and test engineers is significantly increasing. This paper describes the academia-industries collaboration effort in developing an analogue electronic test and product engineering to boost-up technical competencies of electronic engineering graduates particularly in microelectronic major. The program has been successfully conducted at Universiti Putra Malaysia with strong support from Texas Instruments and Teradyne
Prophylactic use of lamivudine for hepatitis B exacerbation in post-operative breast cancer patients receiving anthracycline-based adjuvant chemotherapy
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